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1998: Saving Private Ryan
1998 was a good year for film, albeit not a great one. As I have said before in this thread, I am TRYING not to have any movies in my top 10 as best of the year, so American History X is not the best of 1998 (it wasn't going to be anyway). It came down to a close competition between The Coen's marvellously twisted The Big Lebowski & Steven Spielberg's haunting Saving Private Ryan. Ryan came out on top, but only barely. Another film I enjoyed is Alex Proyas' Dark City.
Normandy, France. June 6, 1944. American soldiers prepare for the horror and vioence that will face them when they land at Omaha Beach to face the Germans so they can invade Normandy. The resulting battle is a bloodbath of body parts and screams as lives are taken. Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) leads his men up the beach to provide an opening to take out machine gun towers. Miller and his men succeed in ridding the towers. After the battle ends, Miller is ordered by his C.O to assmeble a team of soldiers and head out to find Private James Ryan, who has lost three brothers in combat.
Steven Spielberg did not want to glamourise war and he accomplished that mission with Saving Private Ryan. The whole film's message is simple and very true; "war is hell." The opening battle scene is monumental. 20 minutes of the most brutal warfare ever put on film. The film grabs you with this opening and never lets you go. The end battle is just as frightening, as men drop all around from deafening gunshot and booming cannons. But perhaps, the most important part of the film is the middle. The soldiers go on their mission to search for Ryan, encountering many situations which sometimes take the lives of Miller's men. When Miller breaks down in tears over the senseless killings, it's the best and most powerful moment of the entire film. Spielberg has created the most convincing, breath-taking and harrowing war experience in film to date.
Spielberg definitely deserved the Academy Award for Best Director. Without him, this wouldn't have the boost that made it so great. The script is well-written and the performances all round solid. But Tom Hanks binds the film together as the soldier who has no idea what or why he is in Normandy, but will complete his mission anyway.
The film does have one minor flaw, though; I find the characters of Miller's men to be a bit stereotypical. But it is only minor.
I don't have much else to say about Saving Private Ryan except it's the best war movie ever.
1998 was a good year for film, albeit not a great one. As I have said before in this thread, I am TRYING not to have any movies in my top 10 as best of the year, so American History X is not the best of 1998 (it wasn't going to be anyway). It came down to a close competition between The Coen's marvellously twisted The Big Lebowski & Steven Spielberg's haunting Saving Private Ryan. Ryan came out on top, but only barely. Another film I enjoyed is Alex Proyas' Dark City.
Normandy, France. June 6, 1944. American soldiers prepare for the horror and vioence that will face them when they land at Omaha Beach to face the Germans so they can invade Normandy. The resulting battle is a bloodbath of body parts and screams as lives are taken. Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) leads his men up the beach to provide an opening to take out machine gun towers. Miller and his men succeed in ridding the towers. After the battle ends, Miller is ordered by his C.O to assmeble a team of soldiers and head out to find Private James Ryan, who has lost three brothers in combat.
Steven Spielberg did not want to glamourise war and he accomplished that mission with Saving Private Ryan. The whole film's message is simple and very true; "war is hell." The opening battle scene is monumental. 20 minutes of the most brutal warfare ever put on film. The film grabs you with this opening and never lets you go. The end battle is just as frightening, as men drop all around from deafening gunshot and booming cannons. But perhaps, the most important part of the film is the middle. The soldiers go on their mission to search for Ryan, encountering many situations which sometimes take the lives of Miller's men. When Miller breaks down in tears over the senseless killings, it's the best and most powerful moment of the entire film. Spielberg has created the most convincing, breath-taking and harrowing war experience in film to date.
Spielberg definitely deserved the Academy Award for Best Director. Without him, this wouldn't have the boost that made it so great. The script is well-written and the performances all round solid. But Tom Hanks binds the film together as the soldier who has no idea what or why he is in Normandy, but will complete his mission anyway.
The film does have one minor flaw, though; I find the characters of Miller's men to be a bit stereotypical. But it is only minor.
I don't have much else to say about Saving Private Ryan except it's the best war movie ever.